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COVER STORY
irmingham professor and TV star Alice from Ur-orchards in Kazakhstan. When I started to Roberts is used to being watched by millions research that a bit more, I uncovered a wonderful story of viewers as she explores and explains some – of the origin of apples with large fruit on the flanks of natural history’s greatest wonders and mysteries. of the Tien Shan mountains, of the spread of apples So, it’s a little surprising that she admits to being a bit along the early Silk Roads, of the invention of grafting nervous about a date with an audience in Brum later and the arrival of apples in Britain with the Romans. this month. “I started to cast the net wider and research lots of Prof Roberts, best known for appearing in BBC other species that seem really familiar to us today, TV’s Coast, The Incredible Human Journey and which we’ve domesticated, to find out where they Horizon, is coming to her home city as part of her came from – and how we tamed them.” first-ever major tour. Tamed is a 23-date tour which Alice is an anthropologist and professor of Public has been nearly two years in the making and which Engagement in Science at the University of Alice says “started to crystalise first as an exciting Birmingham – which means encouraging and idea for a book and then to go with on tour and bring promoting dialogue between the university’s the story to life”. researchers and the public, making their work She describes the book and accessible through the likes of outreach and festivals. tour as a “labour of love” which explores archaeology, Writing the book and the talk has certainly history and genetics to reveal the amazing stories of the changed the way I think about nature and anyone who’s species that became our allies. seen me talk before won’t be expecting a dry lecture “From dogs, cattle and horses to wheat, potatoes and apples, finding out how taming these species has left its She has written seven popular science and mark on them – and us,” she adds. archaeology books – her volume about embryology and evolution, The Incredible Unlikeliness of Being, APPLE APPEAL was shortlisted for the Wellcome Trust Book Prize in As well as appearing at Birmingham Town Hall 2015. As a broadcaster, she has presented several this month, Alice is visiting most of the UK’s major landmark BBC series including The Incredible cities and towns – including London, Manchester, Human Journey, Origins of Us, Ice Age Giants and Bristol and Newcastle – as she brings her unique The Celts. She also presents the long-running take on making history exciting, interesting and archaeology series Digging for Britain. relevant to as wide an audience as possible. “I’ve been interested in human origins for ages, FULL OF SURPRISES and I love how you can bring lots of separate strands “I love writing but I also love giving talks – and of evidence in and weave them together,” Alice Tamed felt like it could translate into a great lecture. explained. “There are clues from fossils, from I often give talks at science and literature festivals, archaeology – the material culture of the past, from but this time I decided to take the book and the talk written history, and now from genetics as well. In to go with it on tour. The lecture I’m taking on tour fact, genetics is transforming our understanding of is, of course, different from the book. I won’t just be how humans evolved. reading out excerpts. I can bring the stories to life, “I started to get interested in tracing the origin of really delve into the mysteries, the excitement, the other species, too, and I’d read that apples originated surprises. All with stunning images, of course.
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october 2017
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